I believe that the Obama administration is conducting psychological warfare on conservative Americans. Not only that but it is also waging this war on all Americans who previously viewed themselves, their country, their Constitution and their overwhelming belief in God as a force for good in the world.

The psychological warfare began with an apology tour in which President Obama publicly “confessed,” presuming to speak for all of us, for the shortcomings of America and our supposed contributions to tyranny and all manner of evils around the world.

This confession planted in the American mind the notion that our values and beliefs might not be in line with freedom and truth.

It was reinforced by the first lady stating during the 2008 presidential campaign that she had never felt pride in our country.

These statements were seemingly shrugged off by Americans who, collectively, seemed to be telling themselves that they were hearing discontent channeled from disenfranchised groups in our nation who, nonetheless, loved the country—and all of us, too

If liberal Americans stand by and do not seek swift and severe justice for those who perpetrated these acts, then they will have tacitly been victimized, too. Because they will have tacitly agreed that it is acceptable for their government to target certain political movements for persecution—and that will have fundamentally changed the psyche of America.

Seen through the lens of psychological warfare, the failure to defend our embassy in Benghazi need not be understood simply as a screw-up. It could reflect an actual strategy on the part of the administration to reinforce the notion that homicidal violence born of hatred toward America is understandable—even condonable—because we have generated it ourselves and are reaping the harvest of ill will we have sown. In other words, we should take our punishment.

The president said as much when he blamed the murder of our Ambassador to Libya on a film that criticized Islam.

This misstatement may disclose not just incompetence and may not just be evidence of a cover-up, but may be evidence of exactly what I am theorizing here: that the president, with the help of his administration, is attempting to conduct psychological warfare on Americans who value autonomy and free will and free markets and small government, by convincing them that they are wrong-minded, prejudiced and pathological and should deeply question their beliefs—including some ensconced in the Constitution.

The wiretapping of journalists would be, then, just another black ops technique in an ongoing war against our freedoms.

There will be those that say that many American leaders have sought to target groups hostile to their views. Some will point to President Nixon or Senator McCarthy or J. Edgar Hoover. And that debate can be had.

But I assert that this administration is engaged in a coordinated attempt to dispirit, disarm and disenfranchise large portions of the American population and to weaken our founding principles through what is best understood as psychological warfare.

And with that statement in the public domain, let us, at least, be aware and notice how many events unfold in-keeping with it, over the next months and years.

The enemy of psychological warfare is the knowledge of what is really happening to us and remembering who we really are.

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third_eye 18,896

Yet the Constitution does not promise respect for blacks, whites, yellows, Catholics, Protestants, or Jews. It guarantees the protection of the rights of individual human beings. This has not proved to be enough,however, to what is perhaps by now a majority of Americans.

It would not surprise me if he is working a little psych warfare on the consertives to make them do something about this spying thing. He should get more of these things done by doing a little psych warfare on these people.

I don't actually believe he is capable of such steps. He has just been so arrogant about the things he wants to do that they are blowing up in his face because he didn't bother to cover his tracks well enough. He really thinks he's teflon coated.

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Almagest 921

This confession planted in the American mind the notion that our values and beliefs might not be in line with freedom and truth.

I'm no Obama fan, but my god that is so spot on. Calling people to re-assess themselves is by no means psychological warfare. Being 100% sure with oneself is dangerous. Where were these conservatives when Bush waltzed all over the constitution, or when Reagan was selling weapons to Iran and lying about it? They were just like every partisan, they're A-OK so long as it's their guy that's in charge. In fact I remember a lot of conservatives praising Ron Paul for expressing similar sentiments, but he's on their team so it's OK. A Democrat criticizing the way the US has behaved in the past is not on, a Republican doing it is refreshing.

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-M7 24

Actually I doubt Obama is doing "anything", more than likely he's just the person to take the blame and "the bullet". Probably just a puppet to get those opposed at such actions to target him and not the ones responsible.

Simple really- The US president is "replaceable"

And now that I think about it, there is a "psychological war" being waged on Americans...But the real question is: Who is waging the war? And a bit more importantly: Who exactly are the "commanders" of said war? And most importantly of all: What is their goal?

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aquatus1 7,057

I believe that the Obama administration is conducting psychological warfare on conservative Americans. Not only that but it is also waging this war on all Americans who previously viewed themselves, their country, their Constitution and their God as an overwhelming force for good in the world.

Wait...are these two separate points, or one and the same? If I don't have a belief in "God as an overwhelming force for good in the world", does that me me a liberal? What if I thought I, personally, wasn't really all that overwhelming a force for good in the world? Am I exempt from the impact of the psychological warfare?

The psychological warfare began with an apology tour in which President Obama publicly “confessed,” presuming to speak for all of us, for the shortcomings of America and our supposed contributions to tyranny and all manner of evils around the world.

This confession planted in the American mind the notion that our values and beliefs might not be in line with freedom and truth.

Hate to break it to this guy, but that notion has been in the mind of more than one American for quite some time. Heck, I figured out the country had a massive guilt complex back when I was in high school.

But, deep inside the American psyche, something more malignant could have been planted—the seeds of self-hatred and self-doubt. And I no longer believe that those seeds were planted unintentionally by people as smart and capable as the president and first lady.

Acknowledging and apologizing for past errors leads to self-doubt and self-hatred?

Isn't it the other way around? Isn't acknowledgement and apology the first goal in all those therapy shows?

Psychological warfare has been described as a set of techniques aimed at influencing a target audience’s value systems or beliefs and inducing confessions of wrongdoing or attitudes favorable to the group proffering the techniques.

Umm...no, actually.

Psychological warfare is a set of techniques used to affect a target audiences behavior, through the tactical use of truthful data.

There is nothing in there about "inducing confessions" or forcing attitude changes. That's actually directly contrary to psychological warfare, which is persuasive by nature, not coercive.

The techniques are often combined with black ops strategy, in which covert initiatives seek to dispirit, disempower and confuse adversaries.

Again, no. Black Ops are clandestine. They are not something that a country wants associated with itself. Their entire nature revolves around deception and misdirection. Psychological warfare is powerful specifically because it is based in truth and openness; it is difficult to dismiss something that is staring you in the face.

The psychological warfare has continued, I believe, with other opportunities the president has had to make American’s question their individual freedoms and autonomy.

This has included misrepresenting horrific crimes, such as the one which unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut, as evidence of the need for gun control measures, when they clearly evidenced a need for revamping our mental health care system.

Again, these are separate, and not mutually exclusive, points. Whether or not our mental health care system needs revamping is not something that would affect whether or not our gun control system needs revamping.

Gun rights are inextricably entwined in the American psyche with freedom to defend oneself. Attacking gun rights, I believe, is an element of the psychological warfare on the American belief that force is justifiable when confronting evil.

Didn't this guy complain, in the very first paragraph, about Obama "presuming to speak for all of us"?

I, for one, have considered guns to be a handy tool for self-defense, but hardly an inextricably critical one. Frankly, I can defend myself better with a pipe in direct combat and a camera at extended ranges. And as a former Master-at-Arms, I can't help but chuckle at hearing people claiming that they need their guns to defend themselves against a potential military coup (Protip: It isn't the gun that makes the soldier or marine so damn effective).

Seen through the lens of psychological warfare, the failure to defend our embassy in Benghazi need not be understood simply as a screw-up. It could reflect an actual strategy on the part of the administration to reinforce the notion that homicidal violence born of hatred toward America is understandable—even condonable—because we have generated it ourselves and are reaping the harvest of ill will we have sown. In other words, we should take our punishment.

You don't have to see it through the lens of psychological warfare to come to that first conclusion (First? Oh, yeah...the author is doing that "these two conclusions are actually one and the same" trick again. Wow. How many times does it take for something to go from bad writing to outright misdeception?). Common sense is quite enough to figure out that most people engaging in homicidal violence have a reason for it, often even an understandable reason. This does not, however, in any way, shape, or form, mean that we condone it or quietly accept punishment for it.

If I crash into a guy's car and he jumps out screaming incoherently and brandishing a tire iron, I can fully understand his anger, and depending on how stupid my actions leading up to the crash were, even condone it, but that in no way means that I am going to let him have at me with the tire iron. That is just stupid.

The enemy of psychological warfare is the knowledge of what is really happening to us and remembering who we really are.

Enemy?

Not only is that not the enemy, that is an extremely useful tool for the successfully application of psychological warfare.

"Do not forget who you once were! Do not accept what they have made you become!"

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No Censorship 2,302

never, NEVER allow oneself to be duped into being one of the stupid many .....

~

Put that poster in the office of the security apparatchik who condones the "necessity" of frisking elders, toddlers, Marines, etc. in airports to "keep us safe". The TSA emperor wears no clothes, and, if trends continue, passengers will be nude too.

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third_eye 18,896

Put that poster in the office of the security apparatchik who condones the "necessity" of frisking elders, toddlers, Marines, etc. in airports to "keep us safe". The TSA emperor wears no clothes, and, if trends continue, passengers will be nude too.

Don't encourage the stupids and unintelligent ...

~

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Yamato 13,195

Oh you know, just the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, the Ninth Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment...

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aquatus1 7,057

I'm a little confused as to how we got to "Our rights are being stripped away!"

How does the silly accusation that Obama acknowledging the past mistakes the US has made equates to Obama apologizing, lying, blaming, guilt tripping, psychologically warfaring, or whatever other nonsensical Seussian wordplay Fox can come up with, have to do with Constitutional rights?

How did his admission conflict with Freedom of the press, speech, religion, arms ownership, search and seizure, dues process, self-incrimination, double-jeopardy, trial by jury, cruel and unusual punishment, unenumerated rights, the limits on the powers of the federal government, or sovereign immunity?

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Mystic Crusader 1,525

Oh you know, just the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, the Ninth Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment...

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Br Cornelius 5,908

The guy who wrote the article had swallowed to much "American Dream" nation with a divine destiny cool aid. America has been cloaking itself in the rhetoric of divine mission since its foundation - it has never lived that reality from the days it committed the holocaust against the Native Americans.

It is no different to all empires in history and took over where the British left off.

The fact that some conservatives find these home truths shocking is the only real surprise here.